Your ‘creative’ benefits package helps land top candidates

All of us are noticing signs of economic improvement in the marketplace. And, as these positive changes take place, there is always an increased competition for qualified people to add to our staffs. More and more companies are looking for additional “ammunition” to land the candidates they want.

One of the areas that smart companies are beefing up is their employee benefits package. Sooner or later, if your package isn’t competitive, it’s going to hurt your hiring efforts. So, when was the last time you reviewed it, compared it to your competitors’ packages and got “creative” with it?

Lots of the companies we work with are small and privately held. But some of our smallest clients are our most innovative. Because they don’t have deep pockets, they’ve added benefits that don’t cost much but earn them a ton of goodwill with their employees.

These are the types of things that delight your employees and attract people to your company. These benefits tell your employees, and the candidates you want to attract, about the culture of your company.

Think about adding some of these to your package:

• Flexible time – Do all of your employees have to work the same hours? Probably not. Making hours flexible can pay off.• Mother’s hours – There are lots of talented parents out there who’d like their jobs to coincide with their children’s schedules. Think about structuring your job to meet their needs.• Birthday off – What a fun way to spend a birthday with a day off. Costs you little, but means a lot to employees!• Health club memberships – Some of this cost can be subsidized by your health plan.• Floating, flexible holidays – Not everyone wants the day after Thanksgiving off. Make more of your holidays by floating ones.• Museum tickets – Join as a corporate member and then offer your employees tickets on a first-come basis.

Some other clients that have deeper pockets offer benefits like:

• A parking space – This is offered by a client in the city and, believe me, it’s a real draw!• A metro or subway pass – Employees can use it on the weekends, too.• Increased vacation time – There is nothing as easy to negotiate when you are hiring someone who may be more expensive than your budget permits than increasing his or her vacation time. Future employees always want more of this, and it’s a good negotiating chip.

Just remember these two things when thinking about beefing up your benefits package:

Your employee benefits package will help you recruit top talent, and it will keep top talent in your company.

You will more than recover the money you spend on your package by retaining your employees. Remember: employees are expensive to replace!

Philip Kemper is Founder/President of Kemper Associates, a 35-year-old, Chicago-based national executive search firm specializing in Permanent and Contract staffing for Tradeshows and Exhibits, Staging and Equipment Rental, Business Meetings and Events Production, Video, Training and Incentives and more. His more complete bio is on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/pub/philip-kemper/2/795/308/. You may view Kemper Associates’ website at www.Kemperassociates.net and contact Phil with questions or comments and employment needs at Kemperassoc@hotmail.com or by calling his private phone line at (312) 944-6551.